Review: Legasista (PSN)

No company fills a niche market like NIS. Every esoteric taste is catered to and satisfied, and the PSN release of Legasista is no different. From the art style, to the over-wrought and cliché-filled dialogue, to the wonderfully androgynous characters, Legasista is not a game with broad appeal, but for those that crave it, celebration is in order.

Legasista is, at its core, a dungeon crawler that trades on size and exploration. The top-down style is well worn, but handled with wonderful finesse, while the dungeons themselves rival any game I have ever seen. Dungeons not only spawn randomly generated loot (a salivating selection for those that love loot), but Legasista can create dungeons with over 100 floors. More than once I was faced with near paralysis at the options and choices available.

Customizing characters is equally impressive. Those that like to spend hours crafting a wholly unique character down to the minutest details will have a ball here, and that is before crafting and improving equipment. Working through the stacks of loot you acquire to find the perfect fit takes hours. The personalization helps to build a connection with each character, which is a great boon since that is really the only in with the plot or characters.

Technically and mechanically, Legasista is great. Enemies can be a bit stupid and slow, and the combat is more button mashing than strategy or finesse, all of which can be quickly overlooked. However, you still have to suffer through the story, which is a trite, stuffy bore that inserts itself far too often. All of the voice acting is in Japanese with English subtitles, which some might find obnoxious. The translation is also full of errors and missteps that hearken back to earlier generations of consoles. Given the long sequences early in the game, it seems to almost desire turning away those that aren’t prepared going in.

Judging Legasista is no easy task. Personally, the vast stream of dungeons with no clear end drove me mad. Lack of objective is not everyone’s cup of tea. There is no real thread to the exploits other than the mechanics themselves. Sure, the dungeon generation is amazing, but the engagements you face getting through those dungeons become very bland very quickly. Players can create almost any character they want, but that character never really has a story or reason to become attached to them outside the work you put into them. All of the pieces never seem to find a way to fit together. Those that enjoy NIS entries of the past and that crave a dungeon crawler will likely sink endless hours into Legasista. Those that are looking for a more modern action RPG will be better served looking elsewhere.

[learn_more caption=”Review Results”][one_half]Pros:

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Nearly infinite play

Constantly evolving dungeons to explore and loot to grab[/custom_list][/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cons:

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Boring Combat

Poor AI

Painfully bad story

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Final Word:

AVERAGE

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Having spent his youth avoiding the outdoors, which is where scary things are, Adam became entrenched in games and the gaming world at a young age. Deciding to use his minor talent for squishing words together to justify his gaming lust, Adam will find just about any excuse to talk or rant about games, especially if you disagree with him.